Council hires energy consultant to assess PGW sale

About Holly Otterbein

WHYY staff reporter Holly Otterbein covers Philadelphia's city government and schools. After more than a year in public radio, she almost doesn't hate the sound of her own voice.

Before starting on her current beat in May 2013, she worked as a reporter for "It's Our Money," a collaboration between WHYY and the Philadelphia Daily News focusing on the municipal budget. She was previously a staff writer for the Philadelphia City Paper.

Her honors include a first-place award from the Association of Alternative News Media, a 2012 award from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association, and 2011 and 2010 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists' Philadelphia chapter.

She was born in Baltimore and therefore has lots of opinions about crabs. She also lived in rural Pennsylvania for several years. She now calls South Philly home.

The Philadelphia City Council is hiring an energy consultant to get a second opinion on Mayor Michael Nutter's plan to sell the city's gas company.

Concentric Energy Advisors will analyze all the proposals submitted to the city to buy Philadelphia Gas Works, the biggest publicly-owned gas utility in the nation. Nutter wants to sell PGW to to UIL Holdings Corp., a New England firm, for $1.86 billion.

The consultant will also look at how PGW could leverage its current resources.

Council President Darrell Clarke says the contracts with Concentric Energy Advisors, which are worth at least $425,000, do not duplicate the Nutter administration's previous work of vetting possible buyers.

"As a separate branch of government, it's our responsibility to make sure that what was submitted is appropriate," he said. "We would also like to look at the possibility of maximizing one of the city's most significant assets, be it public or private. The reality is that there is a golden opportunity for this to produce jobs."

If Council doesn't approve the sale by mid-July, UIL can bail on the deal.

Michael West, a spokesman for UIL, says he is comfortable with Council's decision to retain a consultant.

"As we understood it, this was going be a part of the process," he said. "We remain confident in the merits of our bid proposal."

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